Horrible server lag becaue of level3.sea02.atlas.cogentco.com

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Badname1293, Oct 22, 2018.

  1. Badname1293

    hey there for at least a week everytime i log on in the evenings i am getting horrible server side lag. Can play for a few minutes and then things jump around and time dilate untill its completely unplayable. This seems to happen only in the evenings.

    I have trace routed the problem to level3.sea02.atlas.cogentco.com . Seems to be the high pinger on my route to sony. Question, is this a known issue? I think it is primarily just affecting me becuase i ask around if anyone else is having horrible lag and the answer is no. I eventually get disconnected after like 20 minutes when this problem is occurring, but its unplayable far longer than that.

    Can some network operations person look into this please?

    I cant seem to upload any images to this lovely forum software but basically i get a ping of 73, and a server ping of 72114.

    The problem seems to be the router or switch, level3.sea02.atlas.cogentco.com as i am dropping packets to it, or getting a ping of 700-900 when tracing the route to 64.37.174.141 . Thats the ip my client is connecting to.
    Can 100% reproduce like every evening these days after 9pm PST.

    ---

    5 10 ms 8 ms 11 ms te0-0-0-1.994.rcr21.yvr01.atlas.cogentco.com [38.142.1.81]
    6 13 ms 12 ms 12 ms be3238.ccr21.sea02.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.1.5]
    7 911 ms 900 ms 797 ms level3.sea02.atlas.cogentco.com [154.54.10.246]

    8 49 ms 46 ms 51 ms ae-1-4.bar1.LasVegas1.Level3.net [4.69.133.109]

    9 52 ms 50 ms 50 ms SWITCH-COMM.bar1.LasVegas1.Level3.net [4.35.37.186]
    10 48 ms 47 ms 48 ms be76.las-n9s1-core2.switch.com [66.209.64.65]
    11 47 ms 52 ms 47 ms be1912.las-agg7s3-2.switch.com [66.209.64.226]
    12 * * ^C
  2. adamts01

    How many hops till that bottleneck?
  3. Badname1293

    leaving my isp is hop 4. hop 5 and below reproduced now.
  4. adamts01

    That problem isn't on your end. Call your ISP with that information. They reroute traffic all the time to improve performance, and somehow that node probably just got overloaded. Or there was possibly damage somewhere or a new community developed and they had no choice but to rout all that traffic through that node.

    As a quick fix, a VPN can usually bypass all that crap and give you the best rout possible, But it'll cost $8-$15 a month for a good one. Which VPN depends on who has a server closest to your home.

    Edit: The fact that you can still ping later IPs with good results is evidence that this is simply a routing issue.
    • Up x 2
  5. csvfr

    On Cobalt (EU) there is the same issue.

    From about 19.00 to 24.00 CET server latency can go through the roof making the game unplayable. Like a 2 min delay before my actions appear on the server even though information from the other players appears on my end as usual. Not only me who is affected - today we were several who chatted about it happening at the same time.

    It started since the "fix" for disconnects, which worked on my end even though some startup and intermittent lag still remains. Last time I faced a similar issue reinstalling the game helped.
  6. Badname1293

    It is a good suggestion to talk to my isp, however their tech support is not the best and this issue is somewhat esoteric. I was hoping to see if its a known issue and gather more evidence first. Admin downloading **** on core router is not a good hypothesis and its all i have so far.

    I wouldn't trust a vpn i didnt control both endpoints but thanks. plus added latency concerns.

    csfr, interesting thanks. that kinda points to not one core router in seattle being the root issue, maybe a buggy firmware and some buggy code conspiring? hehehe. its more than likely network lag, but if we get a few more reports from non west coast areas ( i assume EU servers are in europe.), it might be worth considering it as the same phenomenon.
  7. adamts01

    If security is your concern, you're much safer running a VPN. Not even your ISP will know what you're up to. Do your own research on that.

    As far as latency, you're wrong there too. It's the entire job of gaming VPNs to reduce hops, and reduce latency. One of these would solve your current problem. No doubt about it.

    As for your isp not helping, this is actually one of the things they do very well. As your signal goes to **** halfway through, it's quite likely that node is owned by another isp, and is basically screwing your isp by messing up your signal after it's handed off. There is a way to find out who runs the node you're having problems with, and if you figure that out, you can actually contact that isp and they usually jump right on it.

    And you really need to stop worrying about your router. If that were the problem, you'd have connection problems before the signal even left your house, and a good signal when pining a hub after the bottleneck also confirms without a doubt that the problem isn't on your end.
  8. Scroffel5

    The fix for the disconnects let me play now, and I connect immediately, but now after I am playing for a bit, the serverside latency goes really really high, over 100k. Then it says that I have disconnected.
  9. Badname1293

    I've never heard of a gaming vpn TIL.But the point remains. VPN is unnecessary extra overhead, and security risks. 10 hops (really 6 after the ISP, is really not that far...) internet is 100mbps down and 10 up so speed or latency is not going to be a problem.

    Dude, I am talking about internet CORE routers, of which this congent has many and I have zero. What do you think hops in a traceroute are? they are core routers, probably cisco or juniper, but i am not familiar with anything more powerful than a nexus so cant really speculate on what is used in that space. I am beginning to think you dont know much more than home networking... You do know how ISPs and peering works right? BGP and such?


    Anyways with the patch today i hope it will actually address my issue too. Stranger things have happened, and some reading points to many people with connection issues actually. I may have mis diagnosed, but i cant imagine how as all evidence points to one bad node in the route. Even right now its dropping 2/3 packets.

    Cogent is a big american tier 1 provider according to wikipedia. And I have emailed them now to ask what the dilly with this one device in seattle i would guess.

    Scorffel5 i have the exact same symptoms. People in the other thread say that some people haven't been able to play for 15 days. Mine isnt that bad, but it has certainly been unplayable as you describe with gradual desyncing until disconnection.

    If i dont post back, then the problem was fixed by this update. Otherwise i will be back for more great networking discussions.